Family alleges teacher was assaulted before body was found in river
Key Points:
- Postmortem Conducted with Videography after Family’s Protest
- Three Relatives Detained for Questioning in Suspicious Death
- Teacher Ran School with over 1,600 Students in Mirudih
SERAIKELA – A schoolteacher’s death under mysterious circumstances near the Chamaru-Kolabira bridge has triggered protests and a police investigation in Seraikela.
The teacher, Amit Kumar, also known as Jiten Mahto, was found in the Sanjay river in a suspicious condition. His family staged a heavy protest on Sunday.
Following the uproar, a two-member team of doctors conducted the postmortem on Monday with videography. Police have launched a detailed inquiry into the case.
The deceased’s relatives allege he was murdered. They claim a heavy object struck his groin, causing him to lose consciousness before he was thrown into the river.
Meanwhile, family members pointed to deep injury marks on the body as evidence of assault. Police have taken up the investigation based on the family’s complaint and available evidence.
Three men who were with Amit on the day of the incident have been detained on suspicion. They are his brothers-in-law, Mithun Mahto and Deepak Mahto, along with a relative, Rajesh Mahto. Officers are questioning them continuously.
According to information gathered, Amit originally hailed from Dhatkidih in Gamharia. He currently lived in Mirudih.
On Saturday morning, he had traveled to Manikbazar with his wife and four-year-old child. The occasion was a relative’s wedding.
That evening, Deepak Mahto of Udalkham, Mithun Mahto of Kendua and Rajesh Mahto of Chamaru took him along, saying they were headed to the Seraikela market. Amit never returned home after that.
His family says the three men gave no information about his disappearance despite being with him. On Sunday morning, villagers searched the area extensively.
The body was recovered around 11 a.m. in Chamaru, roughly 18 hours after he went missing. The spot where it was found had only waist-deep water.
However, the family has firmly rejected the possibility of death by drowning. They describe Amit as an excellent swimmer who bathed in the river daily while living in Mirudih.
They also said he never consumed any form of intoxicant. This, they argue, raises questions about how he could have drowned in shallow water.
Besides his teaching background, Amit ran a school called Vishwa Vikas Vidyalaya in Mirudih. The institution offers classes from LKG through the 10th standard.
Around 1,600 students are currently enrolled there. “We want a fair investigation into what really happened to him,” a family member said.
Police in the district have in the past cracked down on strangled to death cases involving disputes among acquaintances, while separate incidents of bodies found under bridge structures have also drawn scrutiny in the region. Authorities have previously investigated a mysterious death case and a drowning investigation elsewhere in the district. An Saraikela death case from 2023 similarly involved a family disputing the official cause. Officials have also run an anti-crime drive across the district in recent years. The case is being treated as a possible murder pending further forensic findings.
